Narrative of a private soldier in His Majesty's 92d regiment of foot

Preface

Long prefaces to Narratives have seldom, I believe, the honour of being read through. If the Narrative possess interest, a tedious recommendation only detains the reader from his enjoyment; and if it possess none, it aggravates his disappointment. — I shall, therefore, be very brief.

The subject of the following Memoir has been connected with the church under my pastoral care, nearly since its formation, in the year 1803: — and, from this, as well as from a circumstance in his religious history, which the reader will discover towards the close of the narrative, it may perhaps be thought, that my recommendations are, in some degree, dictated by feelings of partiality. I hope I shall never be so dead to Christian sensibility, as to feel nothing of the peculiar interest which the circumstance alluded to, is fitted to produce. Yet I may say with truth, that the very consciousness of this interest has made me the more jealous and scrupulous in giving the advice to publish; an advice which I never should have given, unless from a sincere conviction, that the Narrative is fitted both to please and to profit; to gratify curiosity, and, through the blessing of God, to impart instruction and spiritual benefit.

IV

The remarks of a private in the ranks, when he is a man of any shrewdness and observation, on the incidents that come within his notice, in the campaigns in which he is engaged, have in them a particular interest. — Whilst we are pleased with the degree of intelligence which they discover, we at the same time feel a satisfying confidence, that they contain c a plain unvarnished tale;' unaffected by any temptation, either ' in aught to extenuate, 5 or 4 to set down aught in malice.'

The religious experience of the writer, I consider as especially instructive. — It sets before us, I believe, in honest simplicity, the workings of a sensible and thoughtful mind, and of a conscience, which had never entirely lost its early impressions; — the convictions, and distresses, and reasonings, — the self-righteous and self confident resolutions, and the necessary failures and inconsistencies, of an awakened but unrenewed state; — the natural reluctance of man to part with self, to plead guilty, and to depend on grace; and yet the entire inefficacy of every thing but this grace either to impart satisfactory and steadfast peace to the conscience, or to produce in the heart a principle of vigorous and cheerful, consistent and persevering obedience.

Of this grace, although, like every other good thing, it has been too often perverted and abused by the self-deceiver and the hypocrite, the native tendency is, to "teach" all who receive it, to " deny ungodliness, and wordly desires, and to " live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this pre- " sent worldj" — 1 teel the delicacy of saying any thing in praise of one, whose living eye the com* mendation is to meet, ami who is still, like all others, the subject of remaining corruption, and in danger of injury from its evil propensities; yet, as it is not himself I commend, but the grace that has made him what he is, and to which he owns himself an entire and humble debtor, I feel at liberty to say, that the subject of the following Narrative, since he was led to embrace the doctrine of the cross, has been enabled, — amidst imperfections and failures no doubt, of which he himself has been much more sensible than others have been observant, — to " walk in newness of life," and to show, that " the gospel of the grace of God" has been " the power of God unto salvation," when every thing else had failed, and had led only to despair.

With the exception of occasional corrections in the use of words and in the structure of sentences, unavoidable in revising for the press the manuscript of one unaccustomed to composition, the style is the writer's own; the work, throughout, having been printed from his autograph, without transcription: — and I pledge my word to the reader, that a single additional sentiment has not been introduced.

I commend the little volume to the candour of the reader, and to the blessing of God; — not without a pleasing hope, that while it may benefit, in a temporal view, the family of one, whose wound received in the service of his country, confined him again, even very recently, from his daily occupation, for nearly four months; it may, at the same 1*

VI time, produce higher and more valuable effects, iti the instruction, admonition, and salvation, of those who peruse it.

RALPH WARDLAW,

GLASGOW. June Uth, 1819.

ADVERTISEMENT

SECOND EDITION,

The very kind reception which the public have given to the first edition, has encouraged the Author to improve and enlarge the second. The additions chiefly consist of a more detailed and combined account of the Insurrection in Ireland, and the Expeditions to Holland and Egypt. These additions, he hopes, will make the reading of the Narrative more pleasant, particularly to young persons. He has divided it into chapters, and inserted the number of the regiment he served in; but his name can be of no consequence to the reader.

Chapter I

Cause and design of writing the Narrative. Author attends the Sabbath School of Dr. Balfour in Glasgow, in 1790. Enlists into the 92dfoot, in 1796, and joins the regiment in Gibraltar in 1797. Behaviour while there. Returns to England in 1798.

Chapter II

Regiment lands at Dublin, in June, 1798. State of that city during the insurrection. Conveyed in coaches to Arklow. Surprises the insurgents on the White Heaps, 5th July. Particulars of the pursuit and arrival at Gorey. Instances of the ferocity of civil war. Kind behaviour of the regiment to the inhabitants. Deserted state of Gorey, where the Author is much in want of provisions. Distressing state of the surrounding country. March to Blessington, and join the brigade of Sir John Moore, and encamp in the glen of Eimal. Orders against swearing. State of the insurgents in the Wicklow Mountains. March to oppose the French who had landed at Killala. Lie in Athlone during the winter. The Author's religious experience while there. March to Cork, and embark for England, June, 1799.

Chapter III

Join the expedition under Sir R. Abercrombie, and sail for Holland, 6th August. Land near the Helder on the 27th. Action among the sand-hills, and capture of Helder. Surrender of the Dutch fleet. Advance to the long dyke; with a description of it, and the surrounding country. Dutch method of churning butter. Action on the long dyke, 10th Sept. Repulse of the Duke of York and the Russians on the 19th. Action on the 2d vm

October, near Egmont. Lord Huntly wounded. Sir J. Moore wounded. Singular action of cavalry. Spectacle of the dead, and severe loss of the regiment. Singular death of a Highlander and Frenchman. March to Alkmaar. Action of the 6th. Author escorts prisoners on the 7th. Army retreats to the long dyke on the 8th. Armistice and convention for leaving Holland. Author takes the ague. Regiment arrives in England, and goes into Chelmsford Barracks. Religious experience of the Author while there.

Chapter IV

Regiment embarks at Cowes on board the Diadem, 64, and Inconstant frigate, 27th May, 1800; and sails for the coast of France. Anchors at the Isle of Houet, 2d June. Singular occurrence on the 4th Intended attack on Belleisle. Religious seamen on board the Terrible, 74. Sails for the Mediterranean. Arrival at Minorca on the 21st July. Regiment leaves Minorca on board the Stately, 64. Intended attack upon Cadiz, 6th October. — Dangerous storm in Tetuan bay. Touches at Minorca and Malta. The fleet anchors in Marmorice Bay, preparatory to landing in Egypt. Some account of that bay and the surrounding country. Author's state of mind during the passage. He is seized with an infectious fever. His religious experience during his sickness, and after his recovery. Sails for Egypt. Objec? tion against the truth of the Scriptures.

Chapter V

Account of the landing -n Egypt, 8th March, 1801. Author seized with night-blindness. Action of the 13th. Scarcity of water. Account of the position of the army and Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Needles. Battle of the 21st, at which the Author is wounded and sent on board an hospital ship. Condition and behaviour of the wounded. Author removed to an hospital at Aboukir. Lord Hutchison goes with a part of the army to Cairo. Author's wound gets worse. Troublesomeness of flies and vermin. Sirocco, or hot wind, and rapid increase ef the plague. Account of_several interesting fc cases.

IX

Behaviour of the wounded in A.boukir hospital, and the Author's religious experience.

Chapter VI

Author embarks for Rosetta. Dangerous passage of the bar at the mouth of the Nile. Rosetta hospital. Author dangerously ill. Death of his comrade, &c. Inundation of the Nile. Skin bottles. Surrender of Alexandria. Dress of the Sepoys and Egyptian peasants. Manner of eating their m-als. Mahomedan mosques. Gun fired at mid-day in Cairo by the rays of the sun. Explosion of a powder chest kills several of the 13th foot. Remarks on the state of mind in which many died. Produce and manner of cultivating the Delta. Immense heaps of grain. Wretchedness of the peasantry Extracts from Sir R Wilson and Dr. Clarke, on the diseases and plagues of Egypt. The urn-voidable evils of War, Author leaves Rosetta, and sails for England.

Chapter VII

Arrival at Cork. Marches to Kilkenny. Proceeds to London and admitted an out-pensiomr of Chelsea. Arrives in Glasgow. Retrospect of his military life. Distressing state of mind. Obtains peace of conscience by hearing the gospel in Albion-street Chapel, and joins the church under the care of Dr. Wardlaw.

POSTSCRIPT.

Consists of an Address to readers in general, and to those in the army in particular, of what the Author wishes them to learn from the Narrative.

NARRATIVE, &c.

CHAPTER I. Dear Pastor

I shall now, according to the best of my ability, attempt to gratify the wish you several years since expressed, that I would arrange into one connected narrative, the various particulars I then communicated to you, of my previous life, and the exercises of my mind; its various workings, and conflicts, until the period when I was brought to the knowledge of Jesus, as the only and all-sufficient Saviour.

in drawing up this account of myself, my motive is, to record the loving-kindness of the Lord to me a sinner; and if you deem it proper to be brought before the public in any shape, the only object I would have in view, is the good of my fellow sinners, particularly such as have been, or are, in situations of life, similar to those I have been in, or have experienced similar exercises of mind.

Into the minutiae, of my early life, I do not intend to enter; and 1 would make this general remark in the outset, that my chief object is, to give a history of the workings of my mind, during the past part of my life, rather than the particulars of my life itself; but I shall narrate as much of these particulars as is necessary to account for, and illustrate, the history of my mind. 1 will also notice, briefly, such other things as may serve to entertain or inform the reader.

I was born in Glasgow, in the year 1779. — When I was very young, the belief of the omniscience of God, was frequently strongly impressed upon my mind, and the thought of his all-seeing eye, often checked my conscience and restrained me during early life, from gratifying my own inclinations, to the extent I otherwise would have done. I pretty early learned to read; and as I grew older I became increasingly fond of it, even indeed to excess. I read whatever came in my way; but the Psalms of David in metre, in use by the church of Scotland, and the Bible, being the first books in which 1 learned to read, and having the benefit of godly instruction and example at home, religious knowledge was that with which I was most acquainted. When 1 was about eleven years of age, I went to the Sabbath school, belonging to the Outer High Church parish, Glasgow. then taught by Mr. Begg, (now minister of New Monkland parish,) and superintended by the parish minister, the late Rev. Dr. Balfour. The chief exercises of the school were, reading the Scriptures, and repeating the Assembly's Shorter Catechism. Dr. Balfour frequently visited the school, after the afternoon's service was over, and staid sometimes an hour, and sometimes even to the conclusion at six o'clock. When the Catechism was repeated, he interrogated us on the meaning of the questions, and instructed us in their import He questioned us upon the sermons we had been hearing, and gave us doctrines to prove from scripture, by collecting all the passages, that we thought contained these doctrines.

The doctrines were the fundamental articles of the Christian religion; and as we read the passages, be would tell us when they were in point, and when not. I was an adept at repeating the Catechism; but as I had no margin Bible to point out the references, I had to range through the wbole scriptures, and exercise my judgment, which of course was sometimes right, and sometimes wrong. When I was shown that I had brought forward a passage that did not apply, it made me think better next time; the passages I found out I remembered where to find again; and those that were brought forward by others, I added to my own stock. This was an exercise that did me more good, than all the other exercises of the school: for, in after life, when I had forgotten the Catechism, and the other things I had committed to memory, I did not forget how to find in the Bible, those passages I had formerly known; and if I happened to be reading the Bible, and came to any of those passages that had been read in the school, it awakened in my mind the remembrance of what had taken place there. I would then recollect something of the impressions that had been made at the time on my mind, and endeavoured to remember what was said by the minister on these occasions; but I shall notice this again; in a future part of the narrative, There were rewards sometimes given to any who repeated chapters, psalms, or hymns. The most remarkable instance of this kind that took place while I was in the school, was a present by a gentleman, of Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, and Sermons to Young Persons,* to be given as a reward to the boy | it was a school for boys only) who repeated best, from memory, Dr. Watts' Divine Songs for Children. We received copies of the hymns, and a time was fixed for the trial. I was very eager to obtain the prize, and even made it a matter of prayer. I wished to have the book, because I had conceived to myself, that it would teach me how to get to heaven. When the day of trial came, the minister was not present, but we were heard by one of the elders. The greater part of the children were very young, and most of them had learned only a few of the hymns. There were only four that could go any length in them, and only three that could go completely through them; and their merit was so equal, that it could not be said which was best. I was one of those three; but as it could not be determined who merited the book, it was deferred until next Sabbath evening, when it was expected that the minister would be present. He came, and we repeated the hymns to him with such equal accu-

* I have learned since the publication of the first edition, thatthese Hooks were the gift of Mr. Auchincloss, a gentleman who took a very lively interest in the Sabbath, schools. He was constantly employed in visiting them, and in giving rewards of various kinds to those who behaved well, and repeated, from memory, psalms or chapters.

racy, that he declared he could not give the prize to one more than another; and to make us equal, he procured other two copies of Doddridge's Rise and Progress; but, as he could not find copies of his Sermons to Young Persons, he bound in Boston's Fourfold State in their place, and I was put in possession of one of them.

I continued in the school about two years.

In 1796, being about the age of seventeen, I enlisted as a soldier in the ?OOth regiment of foot, or Gordon Highlanders, commanded by the Marquis of Huntly,* then lying in the island of Corsica, When that island was evacuated by the British, the regiment came to Gibraltar, and I, along with the rest of the recruits, left Scotland and went to Chatham, where we joined other parties of recruits belonging to regiments lying in Gibraltar, for which place we embarked at Gravesend, in Nov. 1796. But the convoy with which we sailed, was forced, by stormy weather, to take shelter in Falmouth for six weeks; after which we proceeded to Lisbon, where we lay ten weeks, because the Spanish fleet was at sea, and our's, inferior in number, was watching it. The battle of Cape St. Vincent, was fought while we lay there, in which the Spanish fleet was defeated, and four sail of the line taken, which were sent into Lisbon. The British fleet soon followed, except a squadron left to watch the Spanish fleet in Cadiz. As soon as the fleet had repaired its damages, it set sail for Cadiz, and we went along with it for protec-

* The number of the regiment was afterwards changed to the 92d, which is the number of it at present.

tion. We left them when we came off Cadiz, and were escorted by some frigates, through the straits to Gibraltar, where we landed in the beginning of April, 1797, and joined the regiment.

The general character of the army, for the profanation of God's holy name, is well known: and the temptations a young man has to encounter, from the very general practice of this vice, are very great. The religious instructions I had received, and the knowledge I had of the Scriptures, deterred me from acquiring a habit of swearing: I frequently reproved my comrades for it; and having done so, pride of heart also operated to prevent me from swearing myself, lest my comrades should, in ridicule, retort my reproofs upon me; and this they did not fail to do, if at any time I was guilty of an oath, or any thing approaching to it.

Daring the time I had been a recruit, and the time I was in Gibraltar, I neglected the reading of the scriptures. In the regiment, I met with a variety of characters; amongst others with Deists, who attempted to shake my belief of the truth of the scriptures. I was greatly disturbed and perplexed in my mind by their arguments; but I was not drawn into their opinions. Yet I still neglected my Bible, and continued gradually losing the knowledge of it I formerly bad. There was an argument, which had a powerful effect upon my conscience, and with which I met all the pleas and excuses for swearing; — I argued, that if there was no God, it was an absurd thing to swear by the name of a being who had no existence: and if there were a God, be certainly would punish the dishonour done to him, by the profanation of his name.

There was a society of Methodisfs in Gibraltar, chiefly composed of men belonging to the different regiments in the garrison. They had a small place, where they had stated meetings for prayer and exhortation; there were a few of these Methodists in our regiment. Shortly after 1 joined it, the commanding officer gave out an order for none of the regiment to attend any of their meetings. What effect this order had in deterring any from attending at the time it was issued, I know not: it had not at least a permanent effect, for I know that several did attend afterwards, and no notice was taken of it. I went to this meeting place only once all the time I was in Gibraltar, and I was nearly a twelvemonth in the place. This shows what a careless state of mind I was in; for I may say it was the only religious exercise I was at, all that time. There were indeed prayers read to the garrison, every Sunday morning on the grand parade, when the weather was dry; but the chaplain was always at such a distance, that I never heard a word he said. There was a chapel at the governor's residence, where service was performed through the day, but I never was in it.

I began to fall into company which led me frequently to get intoxicated; I did not indeed fall into a habit, nor acquire an inclination for intoxicating liquors for their own sake; but had the same circumstances continued, I have great reason to 2* fear, that an appetite for them would have been formed, and that I might have turned out a habitual drunkard. Gibraltar has, indeed, peculiar temptations to produce a habit of drunkenness. The wine is <henp; the place is warm; and in time of war with Spain, there is very little fresh provisions, and what is fresh, is very indifferent. There is a great deal of hard labour for the soldiers, for part of which they get extra pay: by the evening, many of them are fatigued, and actually need a refreshment beyond their ordinary provisions; but those who need the refreshment, are notcontent to go and get what they require for themselves; they often take one or two of their comrades with them, and having once sat down in the wine-house, they generally sit until either their money is exhausted, or their time; (for the moment the gun fires for the men to be in their barracks, the wine-houses must be emptied and shut, until after the new guards are marched away to relieve the old ones next morning, that no soldier may have it in his power to get drunk before guard mounting.) Those who are treated one night, treat in their turn those who treated them, when they get pay for work.

Many of the barrack-rooms are uncomfortable en account of their size, containing sixty or more men. This greatly destroys social comfort: for one or two individuals can molest all the rest; so that select retired conversation can not be enjoyed. Any thing of that kind is always ready to be interrupted by the vicious and ignorant, who do not fail to scoff and gibe at what they do not understand or relish themselves. Among so many men too, there will always be found some who take a malicious pleasure in making their neighbours unhappy. This renders the barrack-room quite uncomfortable during the evening; which, as the greater part are employed at work, or otherwise occupied during the day, is the principal time when they can be together. This, along with other things, induces those who have a little money, to spend the evening in the wine-house with their more select companions. Different sorts of vermin are very plenty in the barracks; and it is a common excuse for drinking, that they can not get a sound sleep, unless they be half drunk. It was customary at that time to settle the men's accounts once in two months; and, as very little pay was given to the soldiers over their rations during the intervals, the greater part had a considerable sum to receive: and then drinking was so very common, that to prevent a multiplicity of punishments, it was found necessary to have no parade, excepting those for guard, in order that the money might be the sooner done; and the different regiments in the garrison, had to take different days to settle their, men's accounts, that the garrison might not be involved in one general state of intoxication at the same time. But I hear that matters are differently managed now; the men are oftener settled with, and get a larger proportion of their pay weekly, which prevents them from having so much money to receive at once. The most comfortable time I had, was when I was upon guard. There are many very retired guard stations; some of them in elevated situations, on the very summit of the rock, 1300 feet above the level of the sea, from which the view is truly grand, and where a fine opportunity is afforded for meditation. I sometimes took my Bible to guard with me, but I never made much use of it.

We left Gibraltar, and embarked for England in the beginning of March, and landed at Portsmouth, 18th May, 1798, and went into Hilsea barracks. During the voyage I read something more in my Bible, but much more still in any other book I could find; sometimes it was a novel, sometimes a history or play: sometimes it was a book of a religious -cast; but this was rare: I read any thing I could get, to the neglect of the Bible.

Chapter II

We embarked in the beginning of June for Ireland, on board of the Europa of 60, and the Van Tromp of 54 guns. We had a narrow escape from running ashore amongst the rocks, in a fog, upon the Irish coast: the log, however, cleared away just in time for us to see our danger. A new scene began to open to us: Ireland was in a state of insurrection; and we were but ill informed of the nature and extent of it. We were told by a pilot, that we got upon the coast to conduct us into Dublin, that the insurgents had taken Wexford. The prospect of being engaged in a civil war, made me thoughtful, and agitated me not a little. On the

18th June we anchored in Dublin bay, and landed at tiie Pigeon-house in the evening. We were here met by Lord Huntly, our Colonel, who had been made a Brigadier General on the Irish staff. We remained on the mole near the Pigeon-house, which is about three miles from Dublin, until day-break next morning, and then marched into the city with drums beating and colours flying, announcing to the sleeping inhabitants, at the early hour of three o'clock, the arrival of fresh troops for the support of the government.

As we now entered into a scene of civil war, I will take the liberty of stating a few of the particulars of the Irish insurrection.

The city of Dublin was under strict police: patrols of cavalry paraded the streets during the day to prevent crowds from assembling. Numerous and strong guards were posted through the city and suburbs, and upon all the roads leading to the country. These guards were reinforced at night with additional garrison troops, and large parties of volunteer yeomanry, both horse and foot. Many citizens of the first respectability, and not a few of the nobility, were in the ranks of the yeomanry; and it was not an uncommon thing for a poor Highlander to have a wealthy citizen, or noble lord, posted along with him on sentry. All the inhabitants were ordered to be in their own houses by a set time at night. Strong patrols then scoured the streets and made prisoners of all they found upon them, and entered every house where they heard any disturbance. Every house had a written list of the inmates upon the door, and was liable to be visited during the night; and if any one was amissing, the owner might be taken up; or if any were in the house whose names were not on the door, or if any one was found in his neighbour's house, he was taken up and fined before being set at liberty. Every precaution was used, to prevent plots from being formed, and all means was used to find them out. In such a state of society, opportunity is afforded to private malice and ill-will, to injure the objects of their enmity. When I was upon the Grand Barrack guard, two respectable old citizens were brought in prisoners. They were men who were unfit, and very unlikely to have any active hand in conspiracy against the state. They were confined in the guard -room all that day and night; whether they were liberated next day after 1 was relieved, or removed to some other place, I know not. While they were in the guard-room, they were exposed to the interrogatories of the ignorant and unthinking, who took every such prisoner to be an insurgent. They were protected, however, by the interposition of the more intelligent and humane. I had a little conversation with them, and they told me it was their belief, that it was an apprentice of theirs with whom they had a difference on account of bad behaviour, who had, out of revenge, given false accusation against them; such as, that they were holding correspondence with the insurgents in the country, &c. They told me that such cases were frequent. Every person accused was taken up, anu kept until the case should be examined: and as this, from the great number daily apprehended.

could not be instantly done, individuals often suffered seriously, before they obtained their release. The conduct of persons, whose political sentiments or behaviour, were in any measure suspicious, was closely watched. And when they were found transgressing any of the police rules, their cases were strictly examined. I saw an instance of this, in the case of a respectable gentleman, who was confined in the same guard-room upon another day. He had been found out of his own house after the appointed time at night. He pled that he was only a short time in a neighbour's bouse: and that the person in whose house he was, was himself a very loyal man, and a yeoman. He said he had always" been a very loyal man himself, He acknowledged, that at a certain public meeting, (which had taken place some time previous to this) where a certain political question had been discussed, he had spoken warmly, too warmly; but that that was the only thing in the course of his life, that could have any tendency to create any suspicion of his loyalty. He remained in the common guard-room during the day, and was removed to another place at night. He was liberated next morning when I saw him, and he told me, that nothing farther than his being out of his own house at night was brought against him; and that he had gotten his liberty on condition of paying ten pounds to the fund for the relief of the widows and children of soldiers who had fallen in the insurrection. He said that he happened to have as much money upon him, and that he paid it cheerfully; for those that were to get it well deserved it. I mention these cases as certain evils arising out of a state of civil war.